Trustee says she was excluded from Pedro Martinez decision

RENO, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) -- One Washoe County School Board Trustee is upset with the process that relieved Pedro Martinez of his duties as Superintendent on Tuesday.

Estela Gutierrez was attending a seminar in Oakland, and said she did not learn about Martinez's situation until after the decision was made. "My number one frustration is I wasn't even alerted. This should have been on the radar. I mean, obviously if it was in a closed session, somebody knew about it and I wish somebody would have called me and I would have canceled everything to be at that meeting."

Gutierrez said she believes her collegues took a vote to relieve Martinez of his duties. "Everything that I had heard was there were six in agreement. So, obviously there was a vote, an agreement of some sort."

The Trustee said she believes the situation should have been handled in a different way. "I'm very concerned about the process. This is a big job as a Trustee and one of our biggest jobs is to hire and fire the Superintendent. I believe any decision involving the Superintendent should involve all seven School Board members."

Former School Police Chief Mike Mieras also weighed in on the controversy. He was recently fired by Martinez, which touched off a different controversy. "I was a little surprised by the news," said Mieras. "But, you know, there was a lot of outcry and public comments about what is going on in the District so..."

When asked how he thinks all of this will play out, Mieras said, "I don't know but I hope in the long run, right decisions are made that benefit the District and the children."

Martinez told News 4 he was told by the District his decision to fire Mieras, was not the reason for the recent turn of events.

I am sorry this happened to you Mr. Martinez. I have been in a similar situation and it is always so painful and difficult for the family. It tends to shake your faith. I hope you and your family can weather this storm. Shame on the Board for violating Open Meeting Law and worse yet, excluding Ms. Gutierrez. It really is not lost on most of the community that this was outrageous.

Funny how the Board Members decided to have the meeting while Gutierrez was out of town.. Could it have been a racial thing, or was it just a coincidence that she was out of town when they decided to fire him?